August 2011

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With spring just around the corner, Australia Zoo is celebrating the arrival of five Tasmanian Devil joeys, whose arrival marks the most successful Tasmanian Devil breeding season ever at Australia Zoo. Wooo-hoo!

The five-month-olds, who have been named by Terri, Bindi and Robert Irwin, are out of their mothers' pouches and have joined our growing devil family. The three boys have been named Des, Troy and Brian, with the two girls named Ebony and Raine.

"As they're marsupials, the joeys have spent the past five months in their mothers' pouches," said Tammy Forge, Head of Native Mammals.

Wild Tasmanian Devils suffer from what is known as the Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD), an infectious cancer that can now be found across 70% of Tasmania, killing Tasmanian devils in the wild at an alarming rate. DFTD is unique, being only one of three cancers that can spread like a contagious disease.

"Every joey is hugely important to keep the Tasmanian Devil insurance population on the increase, as well as to introduce new genetics into the pool. With predictions the species will be extinct within 10 to 15 years due to DFTD, the birth of each new devil is a positive for the species." explained Tammy.

It is hoped the cute new arrivals will help to change public perception about the species. "There is a big misconception that Tasmanian Devils are aggressive, but in fact they are quite shy and timid," Tammy said.

Australia Zoo runs Tasmanian Devil animal encounters to educate the public about the species, and to raise funds for research programs to help keep them around for future generations.

I absolutely love your Tassie devils. I had the pleasure of having an encounter with Rex and Franklin on the 15th of Feb 2011. They were so gorgeous and their smell was so musky.So it was fab to see them growing up when i visited on the 15th of sept. thanks again

Gail from London7th September 2011 15:42:12 AEST

Little darlings is what I'd call them xx

Maree Ann Peterson27th August 2011 19:47:09 AEST

They are so cute and glad to see Australia Zoo helping the wild population of tassie devils!

Amanda 24th August 2011 03:46:26 AEST

Awwww they are so cute! I really hope to raise more money than I did last year on the wildlife warrior fund so that Steve's dream continues to be supported and carried out by those who still love him very much!

Donna, David 19th August 2011 17:53:09 AEST

Who are the mums? we adopted Jinki a few years ago. It is great that the breeding program is so successful, these beautiful animals are too precious to lose.

malmiller19th August 2011 10:33:54 AEST

Great to see the efforts pay off....well done gang all the best with future attempts!

Kathy Downey19th August 2011 09:19:31 AEST

They are so adorable! But I thought they could only have 4 at a time cos of them only having four teats. Isn't 5 an unusual number of joeys?

Australia Zoo Says

Hi Kathy, You're right! Our joeys came from two mums; four from one and a single baby from another!